The Blurring of Boundary Lines
by frreckles
Summary: It takes place in midNew Moon. Life after Edward decides to leave for good. JacobBella


**The Blurring of Boundary Lines**

**FANFICTION DISCLAIMER:** _The characters belong to Stephenie Meyers, This short fic is set in alternate universe where Edward never came back, the werewolves took care of Victoria and Bella ended up with Jacob._

Edward wasn't ever coming back. He made good of that promise to me. As time slowly passed, I started to get on with living without him. I don't think about him quite as frequently as I used to... and it doesn't hurt anymore. All I have of him are faded memories that I'll always cherish but things are different now.

I've decided that if Jacob was so eager to take me as damaged as I was, then the least I could do was muster up some effort. He really is an amazing guy, werewolf or not, and I really do care for him. It might not be the intense, our-souls-are-entwined relationship like the one I once had with a god-like vampire ex-boyfriend of mine but I can honestly say that I've become crazy for Jacob Black all the same.

Of course, our kind of love took time and lots of coaxing and persistence on Jake's part. It still amazes me to think how much patience Jake must have to stay with me, even years after the Victoria incident. After Sam and the gang were able to put Victoria away and things in Forks returned to its relatively normal state and I started drawing boundary lines for my and Jacob's relationship, Jake kept on being there for me. He kept being my friend without asking for anything more because he knew I wasn't ready. Jacob knew me better than anyone else around, simply from being naturally observant. He picked up on things about me that I, myself, had not realized were completely true until he pointed it out.

I realized with Jacob, living was more than just bearable. He made it so that I was actually enjoying waking up in the morning and looking forward to receiving one of his boyish grins when he came by to pick me up in The Rabbit. We would spend all of our time together and I soon found out all the little secrets and quirks about Jacob Black, including the technicalities of being a werewolf, things that I came to adore because it made him more mine than anything else.

I finished senior year and decided to apply to a community college close by to home because I didn't like the idea of Charlie living alone and the idea of being far from Jacob left me panic-stricken. Back then he was my only source of preservation against haunting memories of the beautiful, Edward Cullen.

Jacob was home schooled during his junior and senior years and I practically lived at La Push when I wasn't at school. I got to know Sam and his now wife, Emily as though they were my own family. The more time I spent with Emily, the more I came to love their way of life and it seemed like I belonged there. Soon enough, I was right there with Emily waiting for Jacob to come home as she waited for Sam when they were out doing God-knows-what.

Things were comfortable and stable for a while as this routine continued, where I would go straight to La Push after classes and help Emily with dinner. Charlie would come over and join Billy in watching the games while dinner was being prepared and Jake and the guys would come home just as it would get dark. The homey family scene was what I've been lacking and craving even when I didn't know it. How could I not want what was present in that loving cozy kitchen after seeing how affectionate Sam was with Emily?

But the stability was eventually disturbed when Jacob asked me on an official date. We've gone to dinner alone countless of times and the part-time workers at the movie theater knew us by name because Jacob was always willing to let me drag him to see some poorly made horror films about zombies rising from the dead. Jacob continued to take hold of my hand whenever the chance arose and every time I've made it clear that we were totally platonic, Jacob would always seem to be fine with it. He assured me again, like he did that time I went with him and Mike to the movies, that it was his problem that he wanted to continue to pursue me. I was hopeless against his eternal optimism.

Needless to say, our date went outstandingly well, seeing that it was like any other time we hung out together, only with the official title. Just like Jacob had predicted, his persistence wore down my thoughts of how I could never love again and that I wasn't good enough for him because I wasn't whole. With Jake the boundary lines were constantly blurred. How could I resist such tenderness in his soft eyes and the safety I feel when my hands were wrapped up in his large, warm hands?

That one "date" led to many more as my defenses weakened and I grew keen to the idea of loving everything that was Jacob Black. By then, it was a good decade or so since Edward left me distraught and I was able to finally make peace with that part of my teenage years. Anyway, this prolonged courtship between Jacob and I continued for several more years until he finally popped the question and asked me to marry him. Had I been in the mind-set that I had been back in high school I would have bolted right then. Marriage was not something I believed to be everlasting. I mean, how could I think so when my own parents' marriage broke? It was memories of Carlisle and Esme's beautifully successful marriage and how Sam and Emily could make it seem so easy that changed my views. After thinking it over I agreed to be his lawfully wedded wife. In my way of thinking: I'd been to hell and Jake brought me back, I think I can survive anything with this man that I'd grown to love more than my own life. And so we were wedded on a breezy summer day at the beach where we first met. It was horribly romantic when I walked beside Charlie towards Jacob. I was wearing a flowy, traditionally white wedding dress with a crown made of tiny white daisies, handmade for me by Emily, who happened to be my maid of honor. Everybody opted for going barefoot seeing as it was at the beach. This did wonders for my peace of mind because though I'd learned to walk properly in heels without landing myself in ER, my klutziness never left me. Jake was in a black suit and bow tie. His hair still short since his werewolf days but some was jostled by the wind and swept across his forehead. Jacob's dad, Billy, performed the ceremony being the head of the tribe and all. He stood in front of Jacob and I, beaming like the Cheshire cat. When Billy pronounced us man and wife and Jake's lips met mine, fireworks exploded in my head and my heart felt like it would burst with joy and excitement.

Life with Jake isn't always sunshine and kisses, for both he and I have quite the temper. We rarely fight though because Jacob always takes precautions as to be especially careful and not to get too angry around me. His worst fear is repeating what Sam did to Emily.

For the most part, life is really good nowadays. I'm currently expecting and Jacob is constantly waiting on me hand and foot. He is always commenting on how beautiful I look even though I feel like a bloated whale. He's really excited and seeing him running around, fixing up the nursery, and baby-proofing the house always makes my heart skip a beat. Just the other day, he surprised me with a handmade wooden crib that he spent the last month making. It's hard to believe how much time has passed, how much we've both grown up. We're really building a life for ourselves and our soon-coming child. Jacob's working as an auto-mechanic from our very own garage. We decided to build a house a few houses away from Billy so that Jake can stay on the reservation and near the guys. Charlie is still living in his house but comes to visit often. He still knows nothing about the mythical world that surrounds my life but I think not knowing is the best gift I can give to him. Billy and Charlie are getting quite anxious; the first grandchild for both of them! We don't know what the gender is, Jake and I have decided to find out the old-fashion way-on the day of delivery.

Do I still think about Edward? I do, from time to time, but it's just a flash of nostalgia here and there. I don't think about what could've been because I don't want to live life in terms of "what ifs". I don't look back with disdain but rather with objectivity. As I am musing over years past, my excited husband calls from the nursery room, "Honey, do you know what color you want the room to be? I'm going to go pick up the paint today." The tone of his voice is like a boy receiving his first BB gun and is anxious to try it out for the first time. Hearing his warm voice brings me back to reality. I am sitting on the couch with strips of color samples scattered across my lap and on the coffee table. Jacob pokes his head out of the other room and givse me the boyish grin that I could never resist, his eyes twinkling.

"I think a neutral color like pale yellow would be best since we don't know the gender," I reply after looking down at all the colors.

Still beaming, he comes over to sit next to me. His long arms easily wrap themselves around me as he gives me a peck on the cheek. "That's fine. Whatever you want Mama Bear; we can always add borders and designs later."

**THE END.**


End file.
